Summary of Main Findings

Context

  • St John Bosco is a well established Youth Centre in Newry.
  • The Centre is used regularly by over 200 young people between the ages of eight and 20 and by a number of community groups.
  • In addition to a full-time youth worker, there are four part-time youth workers and five volunteers. The development of outreach work in the local community is much valued by the management committee.
  • The Centre operates on five evenings each week and there are focused activities, specific interest groups, a ’drop in’ facility and a regular disco.
  • The premises are kept clean and adequately maintained, although certain areas are in need of considerable refurbishment, and some safety issues require urgent attention.

Strengths

  • The Christian ethos and ‘open door’ policy.
  • The good quality of relationships between staff and young people which promotes the inclusion of all young people.
  • The mutually supportive staff team and management committee who respond appropriatelyto the many needs of the young people attending the Centre.
  • The development of good youth work practice in relation to supporting and encouraging young people to participatefully across all of the Centre’s activities.
  • The good outcomes for the young people attending the Centre in terms of their personal and social development.
  • Theeffective leadership and management shown by the full-time youth worker.

Areas For Improvement

  • The need to broaden the range and consistency ofopportunities for young men.
  • The need to recruit additional staff, when resources permit, to promote the development of sustained group work in relevant issue based topics.
  • The need to create more opportunities for members to take responsibility for specific activities and events.
  • The need to develop suitable supervision and support procedures for staff and volunteers.
  • The need to develop formal evaluation procedures in relation to agreed areas of work and outcomes.

Conclusion

  • The Centre provides a safe and secure environment and an ethos inclusive of all young people attending.
  • The programme is relevant, and makes a valuable contribution to the personal and social development of the young people who attend the Centre regularly, and increasingly, to the wider community.
  • There isa need to develop formal evaluation procedures and supervision and support for all staff.

Health and Safety Matters

  • The absence of a fire alarm system.
  • The storage of equipment on the viewing gallery.
  • The loose grilles protecting lights in sports hall.

1.Context

1.1St John Bosco Youth Centre, Newry, has a long tradition of providing youth activities. The original club, which dates back to 1937, catered only for boys; girls were admitted in 1972 when the current premises were opened.

1.2The Centre attracts young people from a range of local areas within the town including, The Meadow, Derrybeg, Armagh Road, and Mourneview; these areas are associated with high levels of social deprivation and high unemployment. The centre also attracts young people from the wider Newry and Mourne area, for example, Rostrevor, Warrenpoint and Silverbridge.

1.3The Centre is staffed by a full-time youth worker along with five part-time youth workers and five volunteers. An outreach worker who makes a valuable contribution to the quality and range of opportunities available for young people within the wider community has just returned to the Centre after a short absence. Many of the current staff are past members of the Youth Centre, live locally and know the young people and their families well. A local curate makes a significant contribution in terms of the time he spends in the Centre and his level of support for the staff and members. The Centre is used regularly by over 200 young people between the ages of 8 and 20+, and by a number of community groups.

1.4The Centre operates on five evenings a week: patterns of attendance reflect the interest in focused activities such as drama, football and netball coaching, boxing and specific interest groups; there is also a ‘drop in’ facility and a regular disco.

1.5The premises are kept clean and are adequately maintained, although certain areas are in need of considerable refurbishment and repainting.

1.6There are some health and safety issues which require urgent attention, for example, the storage of equipment in the viewing gallery, the absence ofa fire alarm system and loose grilles which protect the lights in the sports hall.

2.Strengths

2.1The Centre operates an ‘open door’ policy which reflects the particular philosophy of its patron, St John Bosco. In practice, this policy often results in attracting young people who are particularly challenging in terms of their behaviour and attitude.

2.2The mutually supportive relationships between staff and young people is a significant feature which promotes the ethos of inclusion of all young people. For example, young adults with specific learning needs from a local training centre use the Centre one day a week as a base for recreation and social education, with the additional support and encouragement of the full-time worker. Similarly the Centre provides opportunities for young people to complete Community Service Orders in agreement with the youth worker and the management committee.

2.3The Centre also has a regional function is providing a venue for competitions and sporting events, for example, during the inspection the Centre was the venue for Boys and Girls Club Northern Ireland football competitions. Other groups make use of the premises including Homestart, the local Health and Social Services Trust and gaelic football clubs.

2.4The principles of good youth work practice permeate the Centre’s programme in terms of supporting and encouraging young people to participate and take responsibility for agreed aspects of delivery and development. For instance, a dedicated drama committee was established to facilitate separate funding applications and to organise this programme area. Similarly a Disco committee was set up, which, in addition to running a regular dance provides an element of training for young people in the effective use of equipment. Groups of young people have organised and participated in specific projects involving cross border contacts, fund raising for a group of young people in Bulgaria and organising the annual dinner for local senior citizens.

2.5There are discernible outcomes for young people attending the Centre in terms of their personal and social development. During the inspection, this was particularly evident from the rehearsals for the current drama production which is now an established annual event; an aspect of the Centre’s programme which is particularly well supported by local adults and parents. The rehearsal work observed was excellent, the young people are highly motivated and work with concentration and enthusiasm. The specialist instructors are sensitive to the wide range of ages and ability within the group; they manage rehearsals very efficiently and make optimum use of the rehearsal space and the time available.

2.6A key strength in the drama programme is the effective forward planning. A small enthusiastic committee organises all aspects of the drama provision and the two junior representatives spoke knowledgeably and appreciatively about the ways in which they can contribute to the committee. Older members are encouraged to lead aspects of the production and, in the session observed, an older member led the introductory ‘warm-up’ session with confidence and a good measure of success; the support offered by the leaders was sensitive and unobtrusive. In addition, the committee work hard to involve members of the wider community in sponsoring and assisting backstage with the productions; recently a group raised £1200 from the local community. More recently the group has embarked on drama work related to ‘domestic violence’ and are being sponsored by the local Health and Social Services Trust. Thirty young people are soon to travel to London on a Drama residential.

2.7The full-time youth worker makes effective use of local organisations including The Volunteer Bureau, The Samaritans, The Prince’s Trust, the local branch of Amnesty International, The Millennium Volunteer initiative and support from some local schools. These organisations provide a range of opportunities for young people particularly in leadership training, enhancing their self-esteem and assisting them to test their values and beliefs. Some young people also take part in Senior Member Training (SMT) offered through the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB) and the Youth Achievement Award available through Youthaction. Such certificated course are recorded in the young people’sRecord of Achievement (ROA). These young people make a valuable contribution to the Centre in terms of leadership; their work is particularly valuable in assisting with the summer programme and in organising specific events, for example, the football competition which the Centre hosted during the inspection.

2.8The full-time worker has also secured funding from various sources to develop specific aspects of the Centre’s programme. The most recent is the development of an after-school homework club. This provision is organised by a suitably qualified additional member of staff. An appropriately chosen room has been refurbished and made secure in anticipation of receiving computers which have yet to be delivered and installed. The after-school session is in operation and has a substantial educational focus which the young members appreciate, despite their enthusiasm for recreational activities.

2.9The full-time youth-worker manages the Centre both effectively and efficiently and has established a good standard of youth work practice among the staff and volunteers. She is committed to promoting staff development amongst the young people, workers and volunteers.

2.10Child protection and health and safety procedures are in place to promote the safety and well-being of young people.

3.Areas For Improvement

3.1There is the need to increase the range of opportunities for the young men to take on more responsibility, to increase their participation in the Centre and to widen their range of interests.

3.2When resources allow, additional staff need to be recruited to allow the programme to include further opportunities for discussion and debate on important issues relating to young people.

3.3There is the need for more opportunities for a greater number of members to become more involved in the life and work of the Centre.

3.4Suitable supervision and support procedures are required for staff and volunteers; there are implications in this for staff development.

3.5Realistic targets for specific areas of work need to be agreed with all staff and subsequently monitored and evaluated.

3.6There is a need to develop and formalise appropriate evaluation procedures in relation to agreed areas of work and their outcomes.

4.Conclusion

4.1The Centre provides a safe and secure environment for the young people.

4.2The Centre’s programme is relevant to the needs of the young people and makes a valuable contribution to their personal and social development and to the local and wider community.

4.3There is the need for more opportunities for members to take part in discussing issues, especially those of relevance to young men and in encouraging them to become more involved in the life and work of the Centre.

4.4There is the need to formalise monitoring and evaluation procedures and to promote, more fully, support for all staff.

APPENDIX

Health and Safety

The following need to be addressed to ensure the safety and well being of those who use the Centre:

  • the absence of a fire alarm system;
  • the storage of equipment on the viewing gallery;
  • the loose grilles protecting the lights in the sports hall are a potential hazard.

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